VMware: Migrate vCenter 4.0 database to new vCenter 4.1 server
Last weekend I installed a new Windows 2008 R2 Standard server for my new planned vCenter 4.1 server. There are a few ways to migrate your old vCenter database to your new destination.
The reason I want to migrate my old database to my new vCenter server is to keep my datacenter information, cluster configuration: HA/DRS, performance stats, recourse pools and distributed switches.
Why a new server? Because my present vCenter 4.0 server is Windows 2003 R2 32-bit. vCenter Server 4.1 can only be installed on a 64-bit host.
New vCenter Server specs:
Operating System:
- Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard + all Windows Updates
Hardware:
- Disk C: – : 30 GB (RAID 10) – OS
- Disk D: – : 40 GB (RAID 10) – SQL + Data
- Disk E: – : 10 GB – Swap
- Memory: 6 GB
Software:
- Microsoft SQL 2005 Enterprise; (Created empty databases: vCenter41 + VUM)
- Veeam Backup Enterprise;
ODBC DSN:
- vCenter41 – 32-bit DSN
- VUM – 64-bit DSN
Network:
- Standalone in workgroup, no domain member or something
VLAN:
- Yes, management VLAN. Can only reach ESX hosts and storage and tape library
Database backup:
Login to your present vCenter 4.0 server, stop the following services:
- VMware VirtualCenter Server
- VMware VirtualCenter Management Webservices
- VMware vCenter Update Manager Service
Mount the new VMware vCenter Server 4.1 and modules disk and copy the Datamigration folder to C:\
Open CMD:
Navigate to C:\Datamigration\ and run backup.bat , the script will backup all configuration settings from your recent vCenter installation and database. (Software builds, used ports, database information, server names and VUM Settings/Patches etc.).. once finished all the important data is stored in C:\Datamigration\Data\
If there are any errors while making the backup… check this and fix before you go further!
Now you need to copy the C:\Databasemigration\ folder to your new planned vCenter 4.1 server. You can do this by share, copy this on USB stick or whatever.
